Extracellular DNA: A Critical Aspect of Marine Biofilms Tuck, B, Salgar-Chaparro, SJ, Watkin, E, Somers, Anthony, Forsyth, Maria and Machuca, LL 2022, Extracellular DNA: A Critical Aspect of Marine Biofilms, Microorganisms, vol. 10, no. 7, pp. 1-16, doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10071285. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Extracellular DNA: A Critical Aspect of Marine Biofilms Author(s) Tuck, B Salgar-Chaparro, SJ Watkin, E Somers, Anthony orcid.org/0000-0002-0220-2904 Forsyth, Maria orcid.org/0000-0002-4273-8105 Machuca, LL Journal name Microorganisms Volume number 10 Issue number 7 Article ID 1285 Start page 1 End page 16 Total pages 16 Publisher MDPI AG Place of publication Basel, Switzerland Publication date 2022 ISSN 2076-2607 2076-2607 Keyword(s) biofilm EPSs extracellular DNA extracellular polymeric substances microbiologically influenced corrosion Summary Multispecies biofilms represent a pervasive threat to marine-based industry, resulting in USD billions in annual losses through biofouling and microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). Biocides, the primary line of defence against marine biofilms, now face efficacy and toxicity challenges as chemical tolerance by microorganisms increases. A lack of fundamental understanding of species and EPS composition in marine biofilms remains a bottleneck for the development of effective, target-specific biocides with lower environmental impact. In the present study, marine biofilms are developed on steel with three bacterial isolates to evaluate the composition of the EPSs (extracellular polymeric substances) and population dynamics. Confocal laser scanning microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and fluorimetry revealed that extracellular DNA (eDNA) was a critical structural component of the biofilms. Parallel population analysis indicated that all three strains were active members of the biofilm community. However, eDNA composition did not correlate with strain abundance or activity. The results of the EPS composition analysis and population analysis reveal that biofilms in marine conditions can be stable, well-defined communities, with enabling populations that shape the EPSs. Under marine conditions, eDNA is a critical EPS component of the biofilm and represents a promising target for the enhancement of biocide specificity against these populations. Language eng DOI 10.3390/microorganisms10071285 HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30174503 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Institute for Frontier Materials Open Access Collection GTP Research Related Links Link Description Connect to published version Go to link with your DU access privileges   Connect to Elements publication management system Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au. Versions Version Filter Type Thu, 21 Jul 2022, 09:27:09 EST Thu, 21 Jul 2022, 10:39:23 EST Thu, 28 Jul 2022, 16:35:14 EST Wed, 03 Aug 2022, 16:50:24 EST Wed, 03 Aug 2022, 16:55:40 EST Wed, 03 Aug 2022, 17:00:54 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 0 times in TR Web of Science Cited 0 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 5 Abstract Views, 0 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Thu, 21 Jul 2022, 09:27:09 EST